Perplex

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Perplex \Per*plex"\, a. [L. perplexus entangled, intricate; per
     + plectere, plexum, to plait, braid: cf. F. perplexe. See
     {Per-}, and {Plait}.]
     Intricate; difficult. [Obs.] --Glanvill.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Perplex \Per*plex"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Perplexed}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Perplexing}.] [L. perplexari. See {Perplex}, a.]
     1. To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated,
        and difficult to be unraveled or understood; as, to
        perplex one with doubts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              No artful wildness to perplex the scene. --Pope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard
              for our weak parts, will lie open to the
              understanding in a fair view.         --Locke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To embarrass; to puzzle; to distract; to bewilder; to
        confuse; to trouble with ambiguity, suspense, or anxiety.
        "Perplexd beyond self-explication." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              We are perplexed, but not in despair. --2 Cor. iv.
                                                    8.
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              We can distinguish no general truths, or at least
              shall be apt to perplex the mind.     --Locke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To plague; to vex; to torment. --Glanvill.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To entangle; involve; complicate; embarrass; puzzle;
          bewilder; confuse; distract. See {Embarrass}.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  perplex
       v 1: be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I
            don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This
            question really stuck me" [syn: {vex}, {stick}, {get}, {puzzle},
             {mystify}, {baffle}, {beat}, {pose}, {bewilder}, {flummox},
             {stupefy}, {nonplus}, {gravel}, {amaze}, {dumbfound}]
       2: make more complicated; "There was a new development that
          complicated the matter" [syn: {complicate}] [ant: {simplify}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  181 Moby Thesaurus words for "perplex":
     addle, addle the wits, ail, amaze, appanage, astonish, astound,
     awe, awestrike, babble, baffle, balk, ball up, bamboozle,
     be Greek to, be beyond one, be incredible, be the matter,
     be too deep, be unbelievable, beat, beat one, becloud, bedaze,
     bedazzle, befog, befuddle, beset, bewilder, birthright, blast,
     boggle, bother, bowl down, bowl over, brave, buffalo, bug, cap,
     challenge, checkmate, circumvent, cloud, complicate,
     complicate matters, concern, confound, confront, confuse,
     contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross,
     dash, daze, dazzle, defeat, defy, destroy, discombobulate,
     discomfit, discommode, discompose, disconcert, discountenance,
     dish, disorganize, disorient, disrupt, distract, distress, disturb,
     dumbfound, dumbfounder, elude, embarrass, embrangle, ensnarl,
     entangle, escape one, fill with doubt, flabbergast, floor, flummox,
     flurry, fluster, flutter, fog, foil, foul up, frustrate, fuddle,
     fuss, get, gibber, harass, implicate, inconvenience, involve, irk,
     keep in suspense, knock the chocks, knot, lagniappe, largess, lick,
     lose one, louse up, maze, mess up, mist, mix up, moider, muck,
     muck up, muddle, mystify, need explanation, nonplus,
     not make sense, not penetrate, overwhelm, palm oil, paralyze,
     pass belief, pass comprehension, perks, perquisite, perturb,
     petrify, plague, pose, pother, pourboire, prerogative, privilege,
     put out, put to it, puzzle, raise hell, ramify, rattle, ravel,
     riddle, ruffle, ruin, sabotage, scotch, screw up, snarl, snarl up,
     speak in tongues, spike, spoil, stagger, startle, stick, stonewall,
     strike dead, strike dumb, strike with wonder, stumble, stump, stun,
     stupefy, stymie, surprise, talk double Dutch, tangle, throw,
     throw into confusion, thwart, tip, torment, trouble, unsettle,
     upset, vex, worry